Question

Which of the following is a characteristic of Taq polymerase?

(a) It is an RNA polymerase

(b) It is heat stable

(c) It is obtained from thermophilic bacterium and can be grown in the laboratory below a temperature of 75 degrees

(d) It is used in cellular synthesis processes and the optimum temperature is at least 90 degrees

I had been asked this question in an interview for internship.

My question is based upon The Basic Technique topic in chapter Polymerase Chain Reaction of Genetic Engineering

Answer 1

The correct choice is (b) It is heat stable

Easiest explanation: Taq polymerase is a DNA polymerase obtained from thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquatics. It is heat stable and can be grown in the laboratory at a temperature above 75 degrees. It is used in cellular DNA synthesis processes and the optimum temperature is at least 80 degrees. It is not readily denatured by repeated cooling and heating cycles and thus is used in amplification processes.